characterize

[ kar-ik-tuh-rahyz ]

See synonyms for characterize on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),char·ac·ter·ized, char·ac·ter·iz·ing.

to mark or distinguish as a characteristic; be a characteristic of: Rich metaphors characterize his poetry.
to describe the character or individual quality of: He characterized her in a few well-chosen words.

to attribute character to: to characterize him as a coward.

Origin of characterize

First recorded in 1585–95; from Medieval Latin charactērizāre, from Greek charaktērízein; see character, -ize

Also especially British, char·ac·ter·ise .

Other words from characterize

char·ac·ter·iz·a·ble, adjective
char·ac·ter·iz·er, noun
mis·char·ac·ter·ize, verb (used with object), mis·char·ac·ter·ized, mis·char·ac·ter·iz·ing.
re·char·ac·ter·ize, verb (used with object), re·char·ac·ter·ized, re·char·ac·ter·iz·ing.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use characterize in a sentence

A second sticking point is the ban on characterizing flavors.
Will the Nanny State Target Cigars Next? | Jacob Grier | May 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
But eye tracking will likely prove to be only one element of characterizing concussion.
Junior Seau Suicide Shows How Little We Know About Head Trauma | Casey Schwartz | May 6, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The boy actually resisted characterizing Lane, but the reporters persisted and drew adjectives out of him.
Why Do We Keep Telling The Same False Stories About School Shooters? | Dave Cullen | March 3, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Characterizing the Arizona GOP as unfriendly to moderates and business, he says, is fundamentally unfair and “not true.”
Will Arizona's GOP Self-Destruct? | Terry Greene Sterling | January 28, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
The next day, I heard him characterizing another liberal activist as "numbnuts."
Senator Jon Tester: The Democrats' Last Best Hope | Andrew Romano | May 8, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

Her face wore an expression of mystic rapture like that characterizing the features of some Chinese Buddhas.
Dope | Sax Rohmer
The characterizing details of some of the great fables, however, disappear in Mandeville's English.
Aesop Dress'd | Bernard Mandeville
This may seem like a purely formal and external mode of characterizing the development of philosophical thought.
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy | Isaac Husik
I am about to commence the making of mince-pies, with all the interesting sensations characterizing young enterprise or effort.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. I (of 3) | George Eliot
The importance of accent as a unifying feature of the word is obvious in such English examples as unthinkable, characterizing.
Language | Edward Sapir

British Dictionary definitions for characterize

characterize

characterise

/ (ˈkærɪktəˌraɪz) /

verb(tr)

to be a characteristic of: loneliness characterized the place
to distinguish or mark as a characteristic

to describe or portray the character of

Derived forms of characterize

characterizable or characterisable, adjective
characterizer or characteriser, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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